Beyond the Brews

Sometimes, there aren’t enough hours in the day to enjoy all of the activities Colorado has to offer. Lucky for us, we work in a place that serves some of the best craft brews in our state, so it is easy to check that off our list. But when we decide to venture outside of the brewery we rely on the Odell Brewing Company Wellness Committee to lead us in the right direction. And yes, that direction typically still involves a beer.

Since its beginning in 2013, the Wellness Committee has been striving to promote positive living through exercise, healthy eating and overall work-life balance. Committee chair Eli Kolodny said that his interest in the program stemmed from his own personal commitment to health. “I’m a firm believer that your mind follows your body, and the other way around,” he said. “Even if your mind is in peak condition, if you’re not exercising your body there is a break in the chain.”

Kolodny, along with brewery co-founder Corkie Odell and tap room associate Katie Guiffre, plans quarterly “active meet-ups” (that is, local hikes or other excursions) and events like CPR/First Aid training and quarterly fresh produce offerings. He sees the different activities as extensions of the brewery’s message. “It’s important that quality extends beyond the beer we put in the bottle,” he said. “It’s a quality of life for our coworkers.”

This summer, the committee is planning a handful of fourteener hikes for employees to participate in. A small group from the brewery completed Mt. Bierstadt in June, and Guiffre is hoping that others will join in for the next summit. “[We are] getting people who are already doing it into it a little more, and then that rolls over and encourages others to do it as well,” she said.

And though the local employees reap the benefits of each meet-up, Odell Brewing Company also reaches out to those employees who live outside of Fort Collins. “Our out-of-state co-workers can submit requests for larger reimbursements [for fresh fruits and vegetables] so they can benefit from the fresh produce that we get,” Kolodny explained. “We aren’t going to ship them an orange, but if they want to go buy fresh fruit, we will pay for it.”

While working for a craft brewery is awesome in itself, the Wellness Committee has enjoyed boosting the level of health, fun and fitness among its employees, and hopes to continue planning events to encourage healthy living. “It’s a way to keep people engaged outside of what they’re doing [at the brewery],” Guiffre said. “It’s just something else to look forward to.”

Beer reigns

Though the Wellness Committee is all about health, Odell Brewing is still all about beer. That’s why we asked Katie Guiffre to pair Odell brews with some of her favorite summer activities.